Would Washington Let America Tumble?

posted at 6:00 pm on July 4, 2010 by Anchoress

Washington’s plan was to conquer the Hessians on Dec. 26 by sending troops across the Delaware in three sections — under cover of darkness — the night before.

Colonels John Cadwalader and Daniel Hitchcock would lead 1,800 men to block potential Hessian reinforcements from arriving from Burlington, N.J. General James Ewing would bring about 800 men to seal off the escape route over the bridge at Assunpink Creek. Washington would lead the main attack force of 2,400 men directly into the city.

Washington believed that the element of surprise was crucial, which meant leaving by sundown on Christmas night, arriving on the Trenton side of the river by midnight to begin marching the nine miles inland, and invading before daybreak.

The plan came with tremendous risk.

“In a worst-case scenario, [Washington] would not catch the Hessians by surprise, they would counterattack, and they would pinion his army against the river,” says John Ferling, author of “Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence.”

“He really was risking everything. When he said ‘victory or death,’ he meant that not only for himself, but for that whole army.” And for all hope of American independence.

It seems quite wrong to watch a country forged by such selfless greatness as this, tumble so swiftly into an abysmal mediocrity born of an “idiotic cerebral meritocracy,” and a tawdry old electoral bait-and-switch.

It is even worse to contemplate that the tumble was assisted through the willful surrender of a so-called “free press” (to an unknown entity it preferred to dress-up, rather than examine) and by a citizenry so complacent it was content to be lied to, because it is easier to absorb a soundbite than to read a primary-source document.

It is unimaginable that George Washington, or any of the Founders, would be amenable to a Department of Justice that saw no need to prosecute a clear case of voter intimidation. That was not what Washington was willing to die for; quite the opposite.

The founders of the nation were farmers, lawyers, inventors, journalists, preachers and small business men. Their notion of liberty was to create a government that would protect the shores, promote free trade and stay out of people’s lives for the most part, because the government did not belong there. These founders were not “against” government; their revolution was about keeping government pruned down in size, so that it did not overwhelm. Committed to the notions of private enterprise and private property, these men nevertheless founded schools and hospitals and established charities. They did so because, whether Christian or Deists, they felt sufficiently aware of their eventual accountability to something greater than themselves; they simply did not accept that that “something” should be an all-encroaching government that mirrored the one from which they had wrested their freedoms. America’s greatness was founded in an idea of humanity unimpeded by the applications of a thousand little, biting laws, enforced by ten thousand snippy bureaucrats.

Ben Franklin had a trick of hiding a bit of oil in the head of his walking stick, so that he could amuse a crowd by waving the stick over a pond, thereby releasing the oil, which would still the waters. A bit of a naturalist, it is doubtful that he would be anything but horrified to see the oil disaster overtaking our federally-protected waters, and to read that clean-up efforts have been slowed down and mismanaged by the very government designed to protect them:

Various skimmers and tankers (some of them very large) are available that could eliminate most of the oil from seawater, discharging the mostly clean water while storing the oil onboard. While this would clean vast amounts of water efficiently, the EPA is unwilling to grant a temporary waiver of its regulations.

As Franklin was also a journalist wholly committed to the notion of a free press, he would be equally horrified to discover that the American government he helped to design and sustain in its infancy is actively working to limit coverage the disaster.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

It was Ben Franklin who scratched out Thomas Jefferson’s “sacred and undeniable” in the second paragraph and changed it to read “self-evident.” And one reads those words one thinks, “but, of course…”

Our founders were a varied, gifted, squabbling bunch of heroic men, and the exclusion of any one of them might have resulted in the tumbling of the whole structure they sought to build.

It feels like America is tumbling, now; nothing has made more Americans feel insecure than watching our current leadership’s single-minded pursuit of dubious programs, passed into law over the objections of the very public the congress is meant to represent.

The country was founded on a bold idea, and by men (and women–let’s not forget Abigail Adams–) who were exceedingly up-front about what they were doing, and what they sought. Her tumbling has been nothing so striking; it has crept into power on banal rhetoric and little cat feet.

Elizabeth Scalia is guest-blogging for the week; this has been cross-posted at First Things, where she blogs as The Anchoress

Washington’s plan was to conquer the Hessians on Dec. 26 by sending troops across the Delaware in three sections — under cover of darkness — the night before.

Washington believed that the element of surprise was crucial, which meant leaving by sundown on Christmas night, arriving on the Trenton side of the river by midnight to begin marching the nine miles inland, and invading before daybreak.

George Washington was such an unsopisticated general. Always looking for shortcuts. Obviously he never read the COIN manual by David Petraeus or he could have stretched the Revolutionary War out … … well … … we would still be fighting it to this day.

Washington’s plan was to conquer the Hessians on Dec. 26 by sending troops across the Delaware in three sections — under cover of darkness — the night before.

Washington believed that the element of surprise was crucial, which meant leaving by sundown on Christmas night, arriving on the Trenton side of the river by midnight to begin marching the nine miles inland, and invading before daybreak.

George Washington was such an unsophisticated general. Always looking for shortcuts. Obviously he never read the COIN manual by David Petraeus or he could have stretched the Rev-olutionary War out … … well … … we would still be fighting it to this day.

When I read the old accounts of that time, invariably there will be something that is very illuminating. For me, lately, it was the accounts of loyalists taking advantage of the civil unrest to loot the homes of the relatively wealth rebels.

Another point that really struck me was the accounts of entire military units being fed by private citizens. British military units would encamp on someone’s property, someone sympathetic to the rebel cause, and the officers would present themselves to the residents of the farm house, and demand to be fed while the enlisted men were helping themselves to the farm’s livestock.

Mrs. Draper felt the deepest sympathy for the hard-
ships inevitably encountered by the newly raised troops,
and considered the limited means she possessed not as
her own property, but belonging to her distressed
country. When the first call to arms sounded through-
out the land, she exhorted her husband to lose no time
in hastening to the scene of action ; and with her own
hands bound knapsack and blanket on the shoulders of
her only son, a stripling of sixteen, bidding him depart
and do his duty. To the entreaties of her daughter
that her young brother might remain at home to be
their protector, she answered that every arm able to
aid the cause belonged to the country. ” He is wanted
and must go. You and I, Kate, have also service to
do. Food must be prepared for the hungry ; for before
to-morrow night, hundreds, I hope thousands, will be on
their way to join the continental forces. Some who
have travelled far will need refreshment, and you and
I, with Molly, must feed as many as we can.”

This undertaking, though of no small labor, was
presently commenced. Captain Draper was a thriving
farmer ; his granaries were well filled, and his wife’s
dairy was her special care and pride. All the resources
at her command were in requisition to contribute to
her benevolent purpose. Assisted by her daughter and
the domestic ; she spent the whole day and night, and
the succeding day, in baking brown bread. The ovens
of that day were not the small ones now in use, but
were suited for such an occasion, each holding bread
sufficient to supply a neighborhood. By good fortune
two of these monster ovens appertained to the establish-
ment, as is frequently the case in New England. These
were soon in full blast, and the kneading trough was
plied by hands that shrank not from the task. At that
time of “hurry and confusion, none could stop long
enough to dine. The people were under the influence
of strong excitement, and all were in such haste to join
the army, that they stayed only to relieve the cravings
of hunger, though from want of food, and fatigue, many
were almost exhausted. With the help of a disabled
veteran of the French war, who had for years resided in
her family, Mrs. Draper had soon her stores in readiness
A long form was erected by the road-side ; large pans
of bread and cheese were placed upon it, and replenished
as often as was necessary; while old John brought
cider in pails from the cellar, which, poured into tubs,
was served out by two lads who volunteered their
services. Thus were the weary patriots refreshed on
their way.

One wonders if a “surprise attack” is even possible anymore, what with absolutely everything being reported these days. Troop deployments, aircraft carrier movement, etc. It’s all there to read. Who needs spies?
Not to mention a press that gleefully accepts the body count numbers provided by the enemy and in fact runs the pictures they provide.
I wonder of Obama would have had the courage to order the assault on Normandy during WWII?

Pave over it, and eventually, the weeds, grasses, and roots will take hold on the outskirts of the pavement, moving inward. They will create cracks, and begin to penetrate it. This is how I view the desire of freedom. It is stubborn, hard to kill (impossible, actually), and can far outlive tyrants, totalitarians, or the strictures of control.

The greater the risk, the greater the reward, only when everything is at stake, even your life, do the greatest inspirations come, and the sweetest tasting rewards.

This administration is no stranger to risk, they’re not shy about risking our lives one bit.

We All Declare for Liberty

We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others, the same word many mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name – liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names – liberty and tyranny.

My great grandfather’s name was August Schuldt______. He rescued his family and many Jews from Europe and his name is carved on the rocks of Ellis Island. It’s funny because I have a trunk full of items and he was able to have a passport from the US to Europe (all Countries) and his occupation was “boat man”.

Anyway, he ended up settling his wife and daughters into NYC where they all lived till they died. Then, he went back and rescued Jewish Citizens from Germany and also helped land them in NYC. Their names are also carved onto the rocks of Ellis Island.

If you take a ferry there nowadays, you’ll be met by chanting groups of youts screaming, “Obama, mah coolie.. Obama, mah cooolie, Obama, mah coolie”. Whatever the fark that means.

It is unimaginable that George Washington, or any of the Founders, would be amenable to a Department of Justice that saw no need to prosecute a clear case of voter intimidation. That was not what Washington was willing to die for; quite the opposite.

For those who missed it on Friday, here’s some of what Rush Limbaugh had to say about this part of the story (excerpts)

I made a mental note to myself last night to come in here and reiterate something that was on the program yesterday: Megyn Kelly’s interview with J. Christian Adams, the Department of Justice whistleblower. One of the things that this guy… By the way, Snerdley, everybody talking about Pelosi and she’s stupid or not, you have to understand: What the Democrats are trying to do is create a permanent underclass. Now, we’ve mentioned this I don’t know how many times — and they’ve done it.

They’re creating a perpetual underclass. Not middle class, but a perpetual underclass enslaved to the Democrat Party, and you have to do that with permanent unemployment benefits, just like the Europeans did. So she may be stupid in how she’s selling it, but she fully intends what is happening to happen.

It’s no different than why do they want all these illegal aliens, “undocumented Democrats,” to become documented. It’s all about elections, all about votes, all about power. It’s not about empowering people. It’s not about compassion and helping people.

Many people ask me — and John Podhoretz raises the question today in a piece in the New York Post — Who is Obama? Why is he doing this? Why? Why is he doing it? Is he stupid? Is it an accident? Is he doing it on purpose or what have you? Podhoretz says it doesn’t matter really, because we’re a resilient people. We come back. That was his point. Things have been worse and we’ve rebounded. I do think that’s true, but I think we face something we’ve never faced before in the country — and that is, we’re now governed by people who do not like the country, who do not have the same reverence for it that we do. Our greatest threat (and this is saying something) is internal.

We have plenty of external threats, enemies across oceans, but we have a threat inside as well. This is something that I’ve never felt. I never feel that we had a president actually governing against the country, against the will of the people. I know we’ve had liberals. Clinton and Hillary were, and are. They’re pedal-to-the-metal liberals. But they didn’t want to destroy things. This bunch does, and they make no bones about it — and when destruction does happen, they don’t lift a finger to fix it.

So in this interview with J. Christian Adams yesterday talking about (he’s a whistleblower who said the charges were demanded to be dropped, that he and his line attorneys were told to just drop the case against the New Black Panthers for voter intimidation in Philadelphia) he said that there were people in the office, DOJ, who said, “Well, you know, those people suffered the indignity of slavery, discrimination, segregation and so forth.”

He said somebody else said, “This is payback,” meaning, “All right, look. We don’t care if it’s the New Black Panthers or whoever it is. Black people in this country have never, ever had a fair shake. This is payback. O.J. Simpson was payback. How does it feel?” That word “payback” is not mine. It was J. Christian Adams quoting some people in the Department of Justice.

It is exactly how I think Obama looks at the country: It’s payback time. I think that he’s been raised, educated, and believes on his own that this country has been (as you know) immoral and unjust. It has stolen. It’s unfairly large; it’s an unjustifiable superpower. We have become as large as we are not because of any uniqueness or exceptionalism or greatness but because we’ve simply discriminated against the real people that made the country work, all the minorities. People around the world, we’ve stolen their resources, and now it’s payback time. That’s what we’re getting.

So maybe the black students of the city of new york skoo of edjumacation are calling him… a .. whaaat? For real?

If so, lmao. But from the way those peeps were jumping up and down on the ferry, trying to punch out the ceilings and windows, smacking down old ladies and asian visitors, I’m not so certain that they were calling him a puddy. Unless, of course, they hadn’t got their stimulation funds. In which case, eh. I could see that happening.

So maybe the black students of the city of new york skoo of edjumacation are calling him… a .. whaaat? For real?

Key West Reader on July 4, 2010 at 7:02 PM

Key West Reader:I think,the Lefty A/A`s were expecting their
lives to magically improve,and after almost
two years,it`s,’What have you done for me
lately’ type thinking,so,I still maintain,
that the ‘ObamaVoterBot BackLash’ is still
coming,maybe thats why,there saying that not
to flatering of a phrase!!!!!!!!!!!:)

It is about time that folks see Obama for what he is…a destroyer who hates this country. Hates it…down to the last white person…wants to destroy every single bit of it. And his allies are all the groups around the world who would love to see us out of the way…the communists, Islamists, Anarchists as well as all the robbers who want the product of the middle class. My only hope is that they start the war they have been clamoring for all these years. Then they will find out that it pays to be careful what you ask for.

Tonight, I will drink a beer to my country and my fellow brothers in arms—to quote a famous movie, (can’t recall which) but, “tonight we drink! For tomorrow, WE RIDE!”

saddle up hotheads, the next few months gots us some work to do. I plan on drafting up a fiery letter to launch up to DC on the NBPP bullshiite…plan to quote the Bible, the Declaration and federal law as well.

saddle up hotheads, the next few months gots us some work to do. I plan on drafting up a fiery letter to launch up to DC on the NBPP bullshiite…plan to quote the Bible, the Declaration and federal law as well.

Doubt it. Congress would have surely threaten to de-fund the war within 5 years and then demand an exit strategy along with a specific withdrawal date.

Electrongod on July 4, 2010 at 6:26 PM

It has been almost nine years and no defunding from congress for COIN in Wonderland in Afghanistan. And George Washington did have an exit strategy – it was for the British to exit America. It was not to win the Hearts and Minds of the British or the Hessians and get them to love us.

My only hope is that they start the war they have been clamoring for all these years. Then they will find out that it pays to be careful what you ask for.

PierreLegrand on July 4, 2010 at 7:26 PM

I hope they DON’T. First, because if they start, it’ll suck to be them. But second, who’s gonna scoop their poop when they see what they started and shiite their pants? Not I. Certainly, not I. Nor will my children. Nor will my dogs.

Who shall scoop the droppings of the progressives when they fail in the street? Al Gore now has the dilemma of the Inconvenient Spooge. I have no environmental worshipping slaves to clean up this matter of inconvenience. Wny, the man and its spooge won’t even be attending the Clinton wedding of Chelsea. Oh My Gawd.

These founders were not “against” government; their revolution was about keeping government pruned down in size, so that it did not overwhelm.

So true!

And yet these days “overwhelmed” is what I feel. The only people I see rejoicing are the Democrats – when they pass their big-government-takeover laws. Laws passed by back-room deals, in the middle of the night, and against the will of the people. Happy Democrats who proclaim they’ve “saved/created” millions of jobs. Smiling Democrats who denounce the GOP as ‘do nothing’ while they themselves refuse to investigate one of their own AND refuse to vote on a budget.

It is even worse to contemplate that the tumble was assisted through the willful surrender of a so-called “free press” (to an unknown entity it preferred to dress-up, rather than examine) and by a citizenry so complacent it was content to be lied to, because it is easier to absorb a soundbite than to read a primary-source document.

Today do I bake, tomorrow I brew
The day after that my Regime comes in
And oh! I am so glad that beforehand not enough knew
That the name I am called is Obamastiltskin!

Pave over it, and eventually, the weeds, grasses, and roots will take hold on the outskirts of the pavement, moving inward. They will create cracks, and begin to penetrate it. This is how I view the desire of freedom. It is stubborn, hard to kill (impossible, actually), and can far outlive tyrants, totalitarians, or the strictures of control.

blatantblue on July 4, 2010 at 6:47 PM

” Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than a generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance;it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it, have never known it again“…..Ronald Reagan.

My fervent hope is, that more come to realize, that the alternative, to what our Founding Fathers laid out for us, is far more appealing, and worth fighting for, than what the current administration has in store.

[from the NY Post piece] Washington rode alongside his men. Concerned about Hessian patrols, he warned them to maintain a “profound silence,” and threatened anyone who broke ranks with “instant death.” They soon came across around 50 previously unaccounted for American soldiers. They had been sent by a general named Adam Stephen — before he received word of the invasion — to fire on the Hessians, as revenge for the death of one of his men several days earlier. Hearing this, Washington went ballistic. [..] What Washington didn’t yet realize is that Stephen inadvertently did him a favor. The Hessians had lugged cannons through the storm after Stephen’s men. Finding nothing but sleet and hail, they returned to their quarters chilled and annoyed, and cancelled their usual morning patrols.

Luck, or divine providence? Just one of those several pieces of extraordinary luck/providence during the Revolutionary War.

Yes…but it didn’t need to be this way. We could have kept going, like we were under Reagan. But we lost that…so now it will be very painful and ugly. I’m glad I’m not young now.

AUINSC on July 4, 2010 at 8:12 PM

Also true.

It is difficult being young. I see my peers, Obama and non-Obama voters alike, jobless and struggling to find work. They aren’t lazy, and are trying to find jobs. The jobs (J-O-B-S! THREEEE LETTERS) aren’t there. It’s so unfortunate.

My best friend, who is a conserv, and went to Wharton, it took him a YEAR of searching.

—

thomasaur on July 4, 2010 at 9:00 PM

Freedom is always a step away from the precipice. It is always at risk of annihilation..

However, that annihilation is never permanent. I’ll say this:
The hearts of tyrants do not have the same undying endurance as the hearts of free men. Freedom is not a physical state, it is a state of mind, and no one can destroy that. It will continue on, no matter what, and when the proper opportunity arises, it will root itself, and it will grow, and flourish, and bring light to the dark and destroy everything around it that wishes it ill.

While I do see dark days ahead, my long term vision for the United States is a positive one.

I do believe in the Nationalism of Ideas. That the ideal of freedom and representation is the best ideal of all, and is far superior to anything else, despite whatever flaws it may carry with it.

However, mankind’s activities are cyclical.
The rise of a republic, and the subsequent breaths of expiration, leading to tyranny, are all part of the human cycle/experience.

The US will undergo a fall, but the US is just a name. No matter the name, no matter the size, geography, or number of people involved, the idea of personal freedom will live on through the darkest and most trying hour of history, and in my opinion, prevail.

It is part of the human condition.

And until you can physically and genetically erase that part of the human condition, you will not see an end to it. It will always exist, and it will fight on. That gives me a lot of hope.

Welcome Anchoress! The Founders, and generations of America after them, were risk-takers. People sold homes and left jobs to buy a covered wagon and head west for a better life. Edison didn’t invent the light bulb and then retire; he started building power plants to take advantage of his new invention.

A lot of Americans today, including a lot of our leadership, are so beaten down by PC thinking and the threat of lawsuits that they are afraid to do the right thing. They watch polls when they could fix problems. They ask Supreme Court Justices about werewolves and vampires instead of setting a high bar for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.

Soldiers in the Continental Army suffered without shoes, pants, shirts, food or ammunition. Today people complain if they don’t receive their government check on time.

PLEASE, please, use some qualifying phrase such as “some of,” “many of,” or even “most of” when you’re excoriating American public schools, such as:

Given the deplorable lack of civic education offered by our public schools…

Some of us teachers are standing firm at the gates. I taught the Declaration as part of the 10th grade American Lit curriculum. Students compared the final draft to earlier drafts and analyzed them for rhetorical devices. My students really understood that document when we’d finished.

Remember that we conservative teachers are fighting on your side. We are the best hope some students have for learning our cultural heritage, and we need the community’s support.

Thank you, goddessoftheclassroom, and may God bless you. AND, it’s so nice to see you here, and to again hear a voice from another ‘war of independence’. I pray life has been treating you well since that inquisition.